


Zoo date

by Aisjustrunning



Category: You Could Make a Life Series - Taylor Fitzpatrick
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Zoo, hand-holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 10:11:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11484198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aisjustrunning/pseuds/Aisjustrunning
Summary: Jake and David have a day off. They go to the zoo.





	Zoo date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilcrickee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilcrickee/gifts).



> This is for Cricket, because some stuff is happening in her life. It was going to be about 500 words of penguins. Now it's almost 1k of self-indulgence and there aren't enough penguins, but I still hope you like it.
> 
> Thanks to [V](http://shearsys.tumblr.com/) for the beta <3 (there may still be mistakes, but they are all my own).
> 
> Everything I know about the Central Park zoo and its penguins comes from reading Princess Diaries, so it may not be accurate. Please forgive that.

“We’re not going on a date to the zoo,” David says. Too many chances of being recognised, even in a place as crowded with tourists as the Central Park Zoo. He isn’t really interested in zoos anyway. He went once as a child with the school, to the Papanack Park in Ottawa, but he mostly remembers a really bored snow leopard. There are better ways to spend their day off, even if Jake insists on distracting David whenever he tries to exercise or just do anything useful. 

Jake honest to God pouts. “But it’ll be fun! We can see all the exotic animals and have ice-cream.”

“I’m not having ice-cream where any fan could be taking a picture to post online so that all the sport writers can criticise my off-season diet,” David replies. 

“C’mon, David. Nobody will notice us. There’s too many people there.” Jake makes his best impression of a puppy who has been forbidden from the couch, all sad eyes and pouty lip. “Pretty please?”

David is not proud, but that face works on him in a way nothing has ever worked, and Jake knows it. He doesn’t abuse that power often, though, so David thinks it must be important to him, the dumb zoo idea. 

David compromises. “Ok. Zoo. But--” He cuts Jake when Jake opens his mouth so answer. “Only in the afternoon. We are working out before lunch.”

Jake’s smile falters slightly, but he recovers fast. “Ok. Light work out in the morning, then zoo and ice-cream for both of us.”

“I’m not having ice-cream,” David objects, but it’s too late. Jake isn’t listening, too busy buying the tickets on his phone.

\----

David wakes up to his alarm and a text from Kiro.

_ you wound me davidson. no zoo date for best friend? ((((((((( _

David sighs, protecting his eyes from the too bright screen. 

_ Do you want to come? _ he types, trying not to move too much in order not to disturb Jake. Jake has managed to tangle his limbs with David’s like an octopus, as he does every time, despite the warm summer nights. His phone pings again less than minute later.

_ nope. emily and i have day in. we give you privacy for date  _

David blushes at the idea that he would need privacy to go to the zoo. On a date. He doesn’t even want to ask why Jake told Kiro, or maybe he told Emily. Either way, it doesn’t matter. They are going to the zoo, and Vladislav is probably going to find out about the ice-cream and punish him with extra swimming.

Jake is well behaved that morning, barely complaining when David drags him out of bed to have breakfast, which he prepares most mornings, unless Jake wakes up before David is able to function. He doesn’t try to make David go back to bed, which happens often, but he succeeds in getting into the shower while David is in, which makes the process last longer than David would have liked, even if he’s not really complaining about the… washing help. 

By the time they make it to the zoo, after a too light work out, it’s almost 3 pm and the zoo is closing in two hours and the zoo is still crowded with families and kids walking around the exhibitions. Everything looks pretty similar to what he remembers from his childhood, even if the animals and the zoo are different.

Nobody notices or pays any attention to them, New York too big of a city for kids to recognise a hockey player who doesn’t even play there anymore, but David has his cap low anyway, trying to hide his face as much as possible. Especially when Jake insists on buying two cones of chocolate ice-cream and take David’s hand to drag him to a bench. David’s hand feels sweaty and hot where their fingers are touching, and Jake releases him as soon as they sit on the bench. David looks around; nobody is staring, nobody has batted an eye at their impromptu hand-holding moment.

“Sorry about that,” Jake says, looking at David. “I did it without thinking…”

“It’s fine. Just… maybe not in public? It’s fine that we are seen together, we are training here and it’s not weird, but the hand…” David has thought a lot about all of this, he has excuses for any question he may be asked about Jake, but hand-holding would have no good explanation for the media.

“Sure....” Jake pauses, then smiles. “Thanks for coming with me, David.”

David doesn’t answer, but he smiles at Jake, and he thinks Jake understands. 

Jake stands up as soon as his cone is gone. “Let’s go, we haven’t seen the penguins yet!”

When they make it to the penguins enclosure, it’s almost empty, too close to closing time for families to want to stay in the coldest and darkest part of the zoo. Jake and David stand next to each other near the glass, looking as the penguins swim under the water, near the glass. A penguin with yellow feathers on its head comes to the glass and does a backflip before turning around and swimming away. It’s fascinating.

When David looks away from the penguin and looks around, they are completely alone. He moves closer to Jake and takes his hand. He doesn’t need to look at Jake to know there’s a smile on his face as the see two new penguins approach and swim about.

“Thanks for taking me to the zoo,” David says, this time. “I loved being here with you.”

Jake squeezes his hand and they look at the penguins swimming until the speakers announce the closing of the zoo. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Kudos and comments are appreciated and you can come see me cry about hockey (fictional and real) on [tumblr](http://ilovetextingandscones.tumblr.com/).


End file.
